What is the focus point?

Autofocus points are what the camera uses to focus on a subject. You'll probably first notice them when you press the shutter halfway. Many cameras will emit a "beep," and some of the AF points will light up (often in a red or green color) in the viewfinder or on the display screen as seen below.

When using your camera in auto-focus mode, the auto-focus points will help you direct the focus to a particular location in the frame.

This is extremely convenient because the focus of your photo may not always be in the very center where the camera traditionally likes to focus and meter.

Autofocus points were introduced in film SLR cameras when the Canon EOS and Nikon F-series models were very popular. Since that time, the technology has moved into digital photography and is included in almost every DSLR as well as many point and shoot cameras.

The introduction of AF points gave photographers greater freedom in focusing on certain subjects in the photograph. It mimics the freedom of manual focus while giving you the smooth, quick operation of autofocus.

Autofocus points can also be connected to the camera's metering system in many models. This means that the camera will determine the appropriate exposure based on the chosen autofocus point, which is typically the photo's main subject.

The number of possible autofocus points depends on the camera.

Some cameras have a 9 point system, while other cameras have 11 points or even 51 points. The more AF points a camera has, the more options you have to fine-tune the focus.


After reading up about the ways in which I could use my point system on my camera, I went out with a few friends to incorporate this into my photos, these were my results:

I tried to mainly focus on small details like webs and water to create a much more significant effect to the overall picture.